Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has any plans to review the cuts in guidance counsellors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17537/13]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The Minister for Education and Skills has already acknowledged to the House that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools. However the alternative was to adjust the PTR staffing allocations. The budget decision sheltered the impact for all DEIS post-primary schools by improving their standard staffing allocations. There are no plans to review this decision. It is important to note that the provision of guidance in schools is a whole school activity and it does not just involve the guidance counsellor.

Initial findings of a recent comprehensive survey by the National Centre for Guidance in Education on schools provision for guidance would suggest that even though there has been a cut in the allocation schools continue to prioritise the guidance programme and within it have increased group-work and class-based activity at senior cycle. This approach maximises the amount of time available for those pupils that need one to one support.